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Maxim pushed himself to his feet.

The chair was hauled back, making a 'screech' sound.

The man turned around, blocking her view of model who must be still sitting with an upset face at her date's estranged behavior.

Diana's gaze met with Maxim's and she winced inwardly.

She wanted to hide under the table. She was flexible enough for that but it was too late. He has already seen her.

Diana wanted to act like she had amnesia and she had no idea who she was but then, the pretty angel in her arms was definitely an identity stamp on her.

She felt like a cat who was caught drinking stolen milk except that she was a woman who was caught eavesdropping.

With every step Maxim took towards her, her heart thumped a little loudly even though it was barely a four steps distance from his table to hers.

''Max, where are you going?" Model shouted from her table. Diana could hear the woman's annoyed voice but she could not see her because Maxim was blocking her view.

Not that she wanted to see the woman. Atleast, not when Maxim was looking at her with his aloof 'Who dares to intrude the dragon's sleep' kind of gaze.

''Uh, hi, what a wonderful coincidence to meet you here—''

''You are here,'' Maxim interrupted her. Unlike her hushed voice, he was loud. Loud enough for everyone in the café to know that… Yes, she, Diana Chen was there in that café as well.

''Of course, I am. You are not hallucinating. I am here. I even said hi,'' To prove her point, Diana raised her hand and waved her palm like the tail of a mermaid whose scales have been plucked.

''Baby is here too,'' Maxim said, beginning to remove his suit jacket.

Yes, the man in front of her was wearing a dark grey tuxedo, out of the clothes that he wore yesterday and today in the morning.

He was fresh, clean-shaven, with deep eyes, a striking jawline, and dark hair coiffed to perfection… Maxim Warner might have been a runaway model accompanying his model-like date on her career but then he would have had the entire world's attention on him so not a good idea.

''Yes… Ahem,'' Realizing that she was busy changing his career path unbeknownst to him, she snapped out of it and turned the little angel in her arms such that she was facing him, ''Say hello to the nice uncle here,'' she waved the girl's hand.

'Wahhhhh'

The girl burst out crying and Diana broke out in a cold sweat.

Was it the little girl's way of calling her out on her hypocrisy? Like the 'Just a few minutes ago, you asked me to bite him, pee, and poop on him but now you are making me say hello? Are you kidding me?' kind of thing.

Before she could come up with a proper explanation for the baby's improper crying time, Maxim surprised her by placing his suit jacket on her head, ''Stand up,'' he said, surprising her again by taking the babygirl from her arms.

She frowned and glanced at him quietly, without making any moves to stand up.

Holding the baby on his left shoulder with one arm, he took out his wallet with the other and placed it on the table before pulling out a few dollar bills from it. He placed them on the table before putting the glass of water on the dollar bills.

Diana raised her hand to remove the suit jacket from her head but Maxim simply grabbed her thumb and tugged her up in a gentle move, intertwining all their fingers in the process.

A gasp escaped her mouth and she was certain that she heard collective gasps.

The scene of a tall dark handsome man, leaving his model-like date alone on her table, going to a weird unknown species dressed in a leather jacket and biker outfit in the humid May of LA, holding the angel-like baby and then putting his suit jacket on the already over-dressed unknown species kind of woman that was her was definitely eye-catching to the café customers and the employees.

If she was not sitting at a distance from the round table because of the baby's safety then she would have bumped into it by now.

''What are you doing?" Diana spoke through gritted teeth.

Maxim did not respond to her. Placing his palm on her lower back, he guided her out of the café.

Diana wanted to peek at the woman who was possibly still sitting alone at their table but before she could do that, Maxim whispered, ''Look ahead,'' he even raised his hand to pull his suit jacket above her face but she swatted his hand away.

Diana quietly adjusted the suit jacket, making sure her face was not visible anymore. She was a little slow because she was dumbfounded but it did not take her long to understand that the man just used her as a shield to escape the situation.

''How did you even know that I was there?" Diana asked him when they stopped walking near a black sedan.